


A River of Blood

by liraeth_archive



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Gundam Wing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-15
Updated: 2019-05-15
Packaged: 2020-03-05 15:47:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18831733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liraeth_archive/pseuds/liraeth_archive
Summary: Originally Posted: c. 2001





	A River of Blood

This fanfic was written circa 2001 under the penname LiRaeth and is being added to AO3 for archiving purposes only.

 

Summary: After the love of her life dies, not the first in a string of killings, Usagi must figure out who, or what, is doing it the killing. And why. Then, things get complicated. Not as gory as the title suggests. 

 

Chapter One

 

The wind was cold and strong. With every gust, it blew more and more of the softly falling rain around. The sky was a dark gray, no sign of the sun visible from behind the thick clouds that were heavy with rain. Few people were out on the street on such a dreary morning. Most people were in school or at work. One girl walked down the road alone. She wore no coat despite the rapidly dropping temperature and was thoroughly soaked through from the rain.

 Tears streamed down her cheeks, the salty drops mixing with the cold rain as it hit her face and streamed down her cheeks to drip off her chin. Her skin was deathly pale and she had a hacking cough that didn’t seem to stop. But she didn’t seem to notice any of this.

 She just walked, not really looking where she was going, not really caring. Nothing mattered to her anymore. Not her friends, family, not even the missions which once brought her such rushes of adrenaline. She didn’t even care about her own life anymore.

 He was gone. She’d held his lifeless, beaten body in her hands and watched as the last of his blood drained out of the gunshot in his head and form a puddle on the pavement. The blood had formed a thin red river down the alley and into a sewer drain. What little bit of blood that hadn’t drained out of him covered her clothes and hands. The rain had done little to wash it away, but the crimson liquid was hardly visible on the black clothing she was wearing.

 She’d gotten the call too late. By the time she’d gotten to his body, he’d already been dead, his murderer far gone. She hadn’t even had time to say goodbye.

 ‘Hiiro.’ She thought. ‘Doushite? Why did you leave me?’ She pictured him in her head. His wild brown hair, gorgeous Prussian blue eyes, and the smile that only she’d been able to get out of him.

 The rain lessened to a light mist and the entire street was soon covered in a thick fog. She went into another coughing fit, this one worse than the others. This time though, the cough didn’t stop. It intensified, and she was soon bent over from the pain in her chest.

 She felt the sickness take her. The same sickness that had stopped her from saving her love’s life. She looked up at the sky, where for a split second the sun was barely visible through the clouds and fog. Just a golden shimmer, there and gone in the blink of and eye.

 She closed her eyes and let herself slip into the blissful darkness. The coughing stopped, and the pain was gone.

 “Hiiro.” She whispered in between coughs. She felt her mind shutting down from lack of oxygen. She was coughing too much now to have time to breathe.

 With a dull thud, her body hit the ground.

~

 The fog cleared and the boy blinked as warm sunshine suddenly bathed the street. The clouds were still there, still dark and black. But now the sun was able to shine through and begin drying up the rain-soaked town.

 A silver glint caught the corner of his eye and he turned to see what it was. It wasn’t anything he was expecting.

 A young woman lay on the street. Her body was stretched out and the clothed she wore were still dripping with water.

“Oh kami.” He said. He quickly ran over to her still form. The source of the silver was a diamond engagement ring on her left hand.

 He rolled her over and quickly pulled her golden, tangled hair away from her face. Her flawless skin was as white as paper and her lips were tinged with blue. She was breathing, he noticed, but only slightly. Her breath came out in short, shallow gasps.

 He quickly pulled out his cell phone and dialed 911. If she didn’t get medical attention soon, she wouldn’t make it.

~

 Everything was white. The walls, ceiling, floor, even the clothes she was now wearing were all the purest shade of white. The pain in her chest was gone. And she was warm, blessedly warm. There were silvery flashes all around her, some even taking on slight human form before quickly vanishing.

 Three silver forms appeared before her and materialized into human-like beings. They looked at her, studied her, then shook their heads.

 She doesn’t belong here. One of them said. But no words came from its mouth and she heard no sound.

 The second one nodded. She belongs among the living. It is dangerous for her to be here.  It agreed.

 The third one held up its hand. Go, be gone from this world. It said. Return to your mortal form and remain in your realm until your time has come.

 She gasped as she felt a tug, then a violent wind picked up and surrounded her. Her hair whipped in her face, coming down from its unusual style, and the clothing she wore tore as the wind got stronger and stronger.

~

There was a sudden burst of pain and she took a deep, painful breath. The pain in her chest was back. And the warmth was gone.

 She inhaled sharply and sat up in shock. The cough instantly returned and she put a hand to her chest in an attempt to ease the pain.

 She opened one eye, then the other. She was in a hospital room, the standard kind with two windows, two beds, and a small bathroom. She managed to get the IV out of her wrist and stood up. She was, surprisingly, still in the clothes she’d been wearing.

 She went over to the window, careful of her movements less the coughing start again. The pain would have been nearly unbearable for a normal person, but she ignored it. It wasn’t important right then, as Hiiro would say.

 She was on the first floor. Not a bad drop.  She pushed open the window and climbed out onto the windowsill. With amazing agility, she climbed out the window and scaled down the wall to the street. Then she was gone.

~

 “Report, Agent Tsukino.” A man’s voice said.

 Agent Tsukino, Usa to her friends, stared into the computer screen with a blank look. “Yui’s dead.” She said quietly. “He was murdered, one bullet to the back of the head.”

 The man on the other end of the vid-phone nodded slowly. “I’m sorry Usa.” He said. “I know how close you two were. We’ll have a crew there in ten minutes to collect the body and bring it back to headquarters. Yui was the third agent killed today.”

 Usa blinked in shock. “If I may ask, who were the other two?” She said.

 “The other two were Chang Wufei and Quatre Winner.” He answered.

 She sat quietly in thought for a minute. “Whoever it is is after the former Gundam pilots.” She finally said. “Are Trowa and Duo over there?”

 The man shook his head. “Duo is, but we haven’t been able to locate Trowa. You should get down here too. You’re in danger to anyone who knows about Project Six.” He paused. “And don’t forget that the killer is good enough to murder three of the Gundam pilots. We really need to be on high alert here.”

 Usa sunk back into her chair and nodded slowly in agreement. “I’m on my way.” She said. “Oh, and Mamoru-san? Don’t let Rerina find out about this.”

 He nodded, a small smile on his face. He knew well enough about the psycho princess’ obsession with Hiiro. “I’ll make sure she’s not an issue.” He said. “Ja, Usa.”

 “Ja.” She clicked the ‘off’ button and sighed, falling back into the cushion on her seat back. A small photograph sat on her desk, and she smile sadly as she stared at it. It was one of the only times she’d gotten Hiiro to give her one of his rare smiles. She picked the picture up and slid it into her pocket, careful not to bend the edges.

 Standing up, she looked around the room. She didn’t have many items of real importance in the small, three-room apartment. As she walked to the door, she grabbed Hiiro’s only important possession, his laptop. Then, pulling out her house key, she opened the door and locked it behind her.   
  

 

 

Chapter Two

 

Usagi walked into the office just as the crew returned with another body. The white sheet covering the corpse was splattered in blood and did little to hide the stench of death. Curiously, she slid a corner of the fabric back to see who the victim was. A single lifeless green eye stared back at her, the other eye covered by a long brown bang.

 She bit her lip as she looked upon the corpse of one of her former friends. Almost involuntarily, one hand reached out to close his eyes. "Trowa." She whispered. "At least you’re with Quatre now." She smiled slightly, remembering when she's first found out the two were lovers. Now he lay there, covered in his own blood. He too had been shot, once in the forehead.

 A hand fell softly onto her shoulder and she turned to see who had managed to sneak up on her. Her blue eyes met cobalt blue eyes that were for once serious. Duo was her best friend- other than Hiiro, of course.

 "Hey Usa." He said quietly. "I heard about Hiiro."

 Usagi held back tears. Now wasn't the time to cry. She had a mission to focus on. She coughed hard and felt Duo's arm around her shoulder to steady her. "C'mon, we'd better have some one look at you before you cough to death." He said, suddenly happy again.

 At the word 'death', Usagi remembered that strange dream she'd had before she'd awoken in the hospital. Those voices and the white room. But it was just a dream, of course. She didn't believe in heaven or hell. And if even if she did, she knew she wouldn't end up in heaven when she died.

~

 "For the last time, I am not staying in this damn place over night!" She shouted to the doctor. The doctor, who had worked around these kinds of people for years now, met her angry glare without flinching and gazed steadily back at her.

 Usa shook her head and rose from the table she'd been sitting on. "There is not a chance in hell." She said. "No way. I don't give a damn if you think I'm too sick, I'm not letting you keep me in this med lab over night. And that's final."

 The doctor finally gave up. He'd treated Usa way too often not to know about her stubborn streak. And it didn't help that the girl could kick the shit out of him. He handed her a bottle of pills. "At least take something for your cough." He said.

 She gave him a look that very clearly said 'nuh uh'. He forced the pills into her hand when she didn't take them. "You either take the meds or end up getting sicker. Than you'll have to stay here longer than overnight."

 The glare she shot him this time was cold enough to compare to Hiiro's death glare, and turned around to leave the room.

~

 Duo was sitting on her bed when she finally arrived in the spare room she'd been given. She angrily threw the pills against the far wall, narrowly missing the braided boy's head, and listened satisfied as they fell to the floor behind the bed.

 "Damn doctor..." She muttered under her breath. She looked up, startled, just finally realizing that she wasn't alone in the room. "Oh, gomen Duo-kun." She said. She dropped down on the bed next to him and leaned against the wall. "So what's up?"

  He looked at her with a weird expression. "Usa, when the team arrived to pick up Hiiro's body, it was gone. There were no signs of his body being removed, so either he mysteriously vanished," He looked straight at her. "Or he somehow just got up and walked away."

 Usa's mouth dropped. "But, there were no traces at all that someone might have dragged the body away?" She asked.

 Duo shook his head. "There was a puddle of blood from where his head had been laying, but it was perfectly undisturbed. And there were no traces of blood found anywhere else around there."

 Usagi nodded, taking in the information. Hiiro might be alive! She quickly banished the thought. She'd seen where he'd been shot. Point-blank in the back of the skull. There was no way anyone, not even her Hiiro, could have lived through such a wound. But then, where was his body?

~

 The young man looked up as the woman walked back into the room. She was carrying a tray of tea with her and smiled as she sat down across from him. "So, how are you feeling?" She asked as she poured the tea into two cups.

 "I'm fine. Thank you for finding me and taking me in." He said. He studied the woman as she placed a cup in front of him. "You never told me your name." He pointed out.

 The woman smiled again. "You're right. I'm sorry." She held out a hand for him to shake. "I'm Hotaru. Hotaru Tomoe." He shook her hand. "Do you have any memories back yet?" She asked.

 The boy shook his head, causing his brown hair to fall into his eyes. "No, I still remember nothing." He said.

 Hotaru nodded. "We'll have to think of something to call you then." She shrugged. "How's Heero to you?" She watched his expression, carefully schooling hers to remain emotionless.

 The boy's eyes widened at the name. It sounded way too familiar. But it wasn't quite right. Without thinking, he whispered a word. "Hiiro." He murmured. Louder, he said, "Not Heero, Hiiro."

 Hotaru nodded. "Do you remember something, then?" She asked.

 The boy- Hiiro- nodded. "I think that's my name." He said. He rubbed his temples. "I can't... I can't remember. It's too familiar."

 Hotaru allowed herself a small smile as she watched Hiiro try to remember something- anything. She had found him lying on the street and without hesitation had called upon her power and healed him.

*Flashback*   
 Hotaru placed her hands over the boy's head and closed her eyes. A soft purple light flowed out of her fingertips and began to heal the bullet wound on his head. As she healed him, she saw some of his memories. In several of them she could see a smiling blond haired girl. A girl who she recognized instantly.

 Serenity had been reborn, and this boy- Hiiro Yui she got from his memories- was in love with her.

 She'd opened her eyes just as Hiiro had opened his. She could clearly see confusion in his Prussian blue eyes as she helped him rise and took him back to her house.

*End Flashback*

 A computer screen glowed softly as the user read over the information that had appeared. According to his source, there were in fact six total pilots for the Gundams. The five that the public knew about and one extra, a backup for any of the suits. The guy clicked a link that opened a file on this ‘sixth pilot’. A picture popped up and he opened it.

 She was… beautiful. The man scrolled down and read what information had been sent with the photo. Usagi Tsukino, Age 17, 5”4, Blond hair, blue eyes. In the picture, her golden blond hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail that hung over her shoulder. He continued to read the information listed.

 Near the bottom, he stumbled across something he did not like. ‘Was engaged to the pilot 01 (Hiiro Yui) until he was terminated.’ A small, cold smile grew on his face. If he wasn’t alive anymore, then she would be his.   
  


End file.
